


three doors down

by carpesoo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24588724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpesoo/pseuds/carpesoo
Summary: On a quick late night snack run to the convenience store after he gets his heart broken, the last person Jongin expects to bump into is the cute neighbour who lives three doors down.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol, Mentions of past Jongin/Baekhyun
Comments: 28
Kudos: 113
Collections: Kaifectionery Round 4





	three doors down

Kim Jongin isn’t exactly dressed for company. In fact, he’s still in PJs and his home slippers (damn, he forgot to change out of them.) His hair is a mess and he’s still got some ketchup stains from dinner around his mouth. But in his defence, Jongin had only planned to nip to the convenience store for a minute. Less even. He’s only there for two things: instant ramen and chocolate. Two bars of chocolate. (Okay, he gave himself an allowance of ten bucks to spend on sweets—are you happy now?)

Jongin knows the store clerk couldn’t care less than to pay attention to his dishevelled appearance. He’s certain they’ve seen far worse on the job (of which they’re not being paid enough for, quite honestly.) How is he supposed to predict that he’d end up bumping into the cute neighbour that resides on his floor at two in the morning? Why is neighbour even awake anyway?

Jongin stands frozen at the sight of the tall man standing in front of him and the bag filled with his late night snacks falls to the ground.

“Let me get that for you,” his neighbour offers.

The contents of the bag has spilled all over the floor and reveals Jongin’s shameful binge eating habits. The man has knelt down to help him out but Jongin is faster. He quickly scrambles to collect everything and shoves them back into the plastic bag (thank god it’s not a transparent one) before his neighbour can fully assess the situation. What excuse could Jongin offer to explain his late night purchase?

“These aren’t for me. They’re for a friend!” Jongin blurts out without even being prompted for a reason.

Smooth.

The man stands up straight and eyes Jongin curiously. “Er... you’re Jongin, right?” he asks.

Jongin can tell the man is doing his best to not react to his sudden outburst but there’s a slight smirk and Jongin wants to crawl under his blanket and never emerge from it ever again. He’ll be just fine living his life as a blanket burrito.

“Kim Jongin?” the man repeats his name again.

“Y-yeah,” Jongin answers, “And you live on my floor, don’t you?”

The man’s face lights up at Jongin’s response and holds out a hand for him to shake. “Yup, that’s me—Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol. I’ve seen you around the building and I think we met that one time at that apartment party when the handyman was retiring. But other than that, you always seemed so busy. Or with that other dude—a short guy.”

The description matches Byun Baekhyun perfectly, and Jongin bursts into tears at the reminder. Baekhyun is the last person Jongin wants to think about. He’s the cause of Jongin’s late night snack run in the first place. His ex had broken his heart, and is now making Jongin look like a fool in front of Chanyeol (who Jongin has just noticed, is even cuter up close.)

“Woah, are you okay? Do you want to go outside for some fresh air?” Chanyeol asks.

Jongin nods as the tears stream down his eyes.

Chanyeol ushers Jongin outside and they take a seat outside the store. Jongin feels a comforting hand on his shoulder. The small act of kindness only spurs on more crying from him.

Chanyeol gently pats Jongin’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Baekhyun broke up with me!” Jongin manages to get out between his sobs. The tears are flowing from his eyes like waterfalls and he’s sure the water droplets that drip down from his chin aren’t just from his tear ducts—but a combination of some snot as well.

Chanyeol doesn’t comment and instead pulls out a packet of tissues from his pocket and slides it across the metal surface of the table they’re sat at. He sits in silence as Jongin struggles to choke back the sobs. After several minutes, Jongin manages to calm down and regain his composure. He pulls out a tissue and wipes his face before using the same wet soggy tissue to blow his nose. “Thanks,” he says and hands back the packet to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol holds up a hand. “Keep it,” he says.

Jongin nods and pulls out another tissue to blow his nose again. He takes several deep breaths before he’s ready to speak again. “Sorry about that. I’m still a little sad about Baekhyun, I guess.” Jongin wants to laugh at his use of the word ‘little.’ He’s just had a full on meltdown outside a convenience store, sitting with a guy he’s just met, at an ungodly hour in the morning. ‘A little sad’ doesn’t quite cut it.

“Is... Baekhyun the name of the little dude?” Chanyeol asks. He’s careful not to say the name too loudly, almost as if he’s scared he’ll set Jongin off on another sobfest.

Jongin scrunches the second tissue into a ball and takes a third—just in case he needs to mop up his face again. “He’s not that small. You’re just abnormally large.”

Chanyeol chuckles loudly and it catches Jongin off guard.

Jongin shifts his gaze to his neighbour and looks at him properly for the first time. His sight is a little blurry after all the crying but he observes Chanyeol’s perfect pearly white teeth when he smiles. Not to mention the deep set dimple in his left cheek.

“Can’t argue with you, Kim Jongin. I _am_ tall,” Chanyeol agrees.

Jongin notices the deep baritone tone of Chanyeol’s voice and well... that’s kinda hot. And with that thought, Jongin blushes and turns away. He looks at his hands instead, only for his gaze to travel slightly to the right... and onto Chanyeol’s giant hands. They were freaking massive—the complete opposite of Baekhyun.

“Sorry. I’m just...” Jongin trails off. He doesn’t even know what he had been planning on saying. He’s not thinking all too clearly these days. He’s not been sleeping (or eating) well, not since Baekhyun had ended things with him the week before. After eight joyful (at least to Jongin) months of dating, Baekhyun had called it quits without so much as a warning. “...sad,” he finally says, despite already having just said that. It’s the only word that perfectly fits the way Jongin is feeling.

“I can see that.” Chanyeol dumps out the contents of the bag Jongin had set on the metal table and begins to count. “You’re… one, two, three, four, five—are you kidding me?—six, seven, eight, nine… nine bars of chocolate worth of sad. That’s a whole lotta sad, Kim Jongin.”

“Well, if you heard _why_ he broke up with me, then you’d be sad, too,” Jongin says. 

“Okay, Kim Jongin. Why did the short guy break up with you? Is it because he couldn’t reach the top shelf and was jealous that you could?” Chanyeol laughs at his own awful joke that isn’t even funny. Not in the slightest.

Jongin scowls. It’s far too soon—he’s not ready for any jokes. Even if they were digs at his ex. He doesn’t want to hear it. Nor does he want to reveal the reason behind why he was just dumped. “I don’t wanna say.”

“C’mon. It can’t be _that_ bad,” Chanyeol says.

“Easy for you to say,” Jongin counters.

“What if I told you that I once got dumped _during_ sex?”

Jongin almost falls out of his chair. He had not expected to hear _that_. He grabs hold of the table to regain balance. He looks Chanyeol in the eyes. Chanyeol just stares back at him blankly. How could he reveal it so nonchalantly? It couldn’t be true. “Now you’re just making up lies to try to make me feel better.”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I’m not but I can’t make you believe me. Beside, even if I were, don’t you feel a little better knowing that someone you’ve just met properly for the first time is willing to make you believe that they’re terrible in bed in hopes it’ll comfort you? Maybe turn that frown upside down, hmm?”

Jongin supposes Chanyeol is right. Either he’s bad in bed or he’s just an incredibly sweet guy. Or both. Jongin clears his throat several times. He opens his mouth, about to speak, but hesitates. What if he tells Chanyeol and he laughs? It would mean Jongin would have to move—how could he possibly face the main again?

“He said that me asking if it felt good every two seconds was a boner killer,” Chanyeol reveals. He laughs at his own embarrassing secret and the sound of his laughter travels down the open road.

Jongin picks up one of the chocolate bars and plays with the wrapper as he tries to summon the courage. “He said I was a bad kisser,” he finally says.

Chanyeol doesn’t offer any words in response.

“You want to laugh, don’t you?” Jongin asks.

“I don’t—I swear,” Chanyeol tells him. He gazes intensely into Jongin’s eyes. “I just don’t believe it. Have you even _seen_ those lips of yours? They’re so full... and, okay, you look like you’ve got some food crust on around your mouth there. But if you cleaned up a little, had a shower, put on some fresh new clothes, everyone would be lining up at the door for a chance to kiss you!”

Jongin snorts. “You’re only saying that because you haven’t kissed me yet. I bet you’ll be singing a different tune if you were to actually kiss me.”

“I’m sure you can’t be _that_ bad, Kim Jongin.”

“Then won’t don’t you kiss me and find out?” Jongin suddenly blurts out before thinking it over. Did he just suggest for Chanyeol—almost a complete stranger—to _kiss_ him? What is he thinking?

“Okay, then... I will,” Chanyeol replies.

Jongin can’t tell if the man is being serious is not. He’s smiling that goofy grin of his which is making it hard for Jongin to decipher. “Wait, I was only joking. It was just a hypothetical question,” Jongin says. He arrives at the decision to take it back before it goes any further.

“And I was answering you... hypothetically,” Chanyeol answers with the same expression—his smile still plastered on his face.

Silence ensues with neither saying a word. A minute or two passes before Chanyeol’s starts tapping the table with his two index finger and begins to bob his head to the rhythm. 

Jongin sneaks a glance over at the man sitting beside him. His eyes lower to Chanyeol’s lips. Jongin imagines how those lips would feel pressed against his and he comes to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be the _worst_ feeling in the world. Even if it were a quick peck.

“...Will you kiss me?” Jongin asks, finally ending the silence.

“I guess it depends.”

“On?”

“On whether or not you’re still being hypothetical,” Chanyeol responds. He’s still focused on his mini drumming performance to notice Jongin licking his lips to prep them. “Or rhetorical,” he adds.

“I’m not. I’m being serious this time,” Jongin says and leans in towards Chanyeol’s face. He closes his eyes when their lips press together.

The kiss is gentle. Jongin makes sure to keep his tongue inside of his mouth throughout the duration of the smooch.

“How was it?” Jongin asks when the kiss ends. His voice is barely above a whisper, afraid of what the answer will be.

“Wow. I was right,” Chanyeol replies. He’s smiling from ear to ear and he places his large hand over Jongin’s. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you kiss—in fact, I think you’re a _great_ kisser.”

Jongin isn’t convinced. “Are you just saying that so as to not hurt my feelings?”

“No!” Chanyeol exclaims. “I really did enjoy it!”

“Then why don’t you kiss me again to prove it?” Jongin’s not sure if he’s just fishing for another kiss from the man. He’s not going to lie, he quite enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind kissing him again.

It’s different to the way it had felt with Baekhyun. They never seemed to be in synch, their lips would almost always miss each other. Not to mention that one time Jongin had thought he’d chipped a tooth when Baekhyun’s teeth collided with his own. Chanyeol’s lips—on the other hand—are pillowy soft and he didn’t miss the target on his first try. (Point to Chanyeol.)

This time, Jongin waits for Chanyeol to move in and draw their lips together. Their second kiss is… electric. It’s a lot more passionate. Jongin can feel the force behind Chanyeol’s kisses, their lips are crashing together like magnets being forced apart only to join together a mere second later. Jongin can feel the sparks running down his spine, his fingers are tingling and he feels his body heating up.

Their lips remain connected save for the brief moments they break for air. Chanyeol slips in his tongue into Jongin’s mouth and rubs the two wet muscles together. Jongin’s forgotten how good it feels to french. Baekhyun had always complained that Jongin used far too much tongue. But Chanyeol didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Jongin swears Chanyeol just moaned ever so discreetly when Jongin ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

With growing confidence, Jongin gently bites down on Chanyeol’s lower lip and the man almost jumps out of his chair. He smiles at Chanyeol’s reaction but refrains from making a comment—he doesn’t want to all the kissing to end. Jongin feels Chanyeol’s hand snake around his waist, pulling him closer. His other hand works its way up Jongin’s back before they reach the back of his head.

They’re still kissing furiously when they hear a loud cough that interrupts them. They lean back and turn their head in unison.

The convenience clerk stands in front of them with his arms crossed and clears his throat. “Do you mind? can you—I don’t know—get a room if you just wanna makeout?”

“Sorry,” they apologise with lowered heads.

When the clerk returns inside, they look at each other and burst into laughter. Chanyeol’s lips are pretty red and swollen and Jongin’s sure his are the same.

“So... my place or yours?” Chanyeol asks with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Jongin takes a second to mull it over when he recalls the state he left the apartment in. “Yours,” he replies.

As they walk back to their apartment block, Jongin feels his Chanyeol slipping his fingers in between his. He smiles when Chanyeol gives his hand a squeeze and they continue their route back home, hands clasped tightly together under the night sky.

Baekhyun had always said that nothing good happens after two am. Guess he’d been wrong about that, too.

“Have you found it yet?” Chanyeol calls out to Jongin from behind the door.

With Chanyeol’s phone in his hand. Jongin redials his number again and listens out for his ringtone. He takes several steps towards the bed and judging by the ringing sounding louder—it must be closeby. Jongin bends down to peek under the mattress and finally spots his phone. “Found it!”

He reaches out and retrieves his phone from under the bed—it must have fallen under at some point during the night. He unlocks the screen and clears the missed call logs. When Chanyeol emerges from the bathroom after taking a shower, Jongin can’t help but ogle at his wet naked body with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Jongin wolf whistles before handing the phone back to its rightful owner.

“Why do you have me saved under my full name?” Jongin asks. “And not just that, I’ve noticed how you always call me by my full name, too. It sounds so weird and my friends have also picked up on it.”

“I don’t know. I just like the sound of it rolling off my tongue. _Kim Jongin_.” Chanyeol leans in and plants a kiss on Jongin’s lips. Chanyeol’s hair is still dripping wet but Jongin doesn’t mind. Chanyeol takes a look in the mirror and runs his hands through his hair, water droplets spraying all nearby surfaces.

Jongin grabs hold of Chanyeol’s towel and pulls him in for another kiss. “You better get going or else you’ll be late for work.”

“You’re the one who’s refusing to let me go,” Chanyeol says in between each kiss.

“I’m not. You’re the one finding excuses to stay. Who’s the one who wanted to take a shower here because apparently my water pressure is better even though we have the same exact shower and live on the same floor?” Jongin points out.

Chanyeol leans back and pouts at Jongin. “Shut up.” there’s no real bite behind his words.

“Make me,” Jongin teases.

“Glad to, Kim Jongin.”

Jongin lifts his head to meet his ~~neighbour’s~~ boyfriend’s lips and they share a kiss for the gazillionth time. And Jongin looks forward to all the kisses yet to come.


End file.
